Time-Off & About This Blog
About This Blog - Well readership is growing so I guess the site is doing at least a decent job discussing the Manhattan real estate market and how best to profit from it. But with that I have been getting a rising number of emails lately about posts that I don't write, confusing me with some of the other contributors of the site. So, I think its time to explain to you who writes on this site, how to know who writes a post, and what topics each writer will cover. I'll also explain how this site came to be.
To know who wrote the post simply look directly beneath the 'date - title' of the article. It will say...
"Posted by urbandigs at 7:39 AM I Comments"
Here is who we are and how you can identify the writer:
NOAH ROSENBLATT (urbandigs) - I started this site in AUG 2005 with the hope to make New York City real estate more transparent for those not in the industry, as well as discuss tips, trends, and reports on macro economic conditions that might ultimately effect our real estate marketplace. I try my best to report on what Im thinking about that day and write about a learning experience in the field that I think is worthwhile to pass on to you so you can better handle or take advantage of a specific situation with your real estate investment.
I have great plans for this site and currently am working on a market index for Manhattan in the hopes of bringing to you a more real-time gauge for the current real estate environment in New York City. It is a few months away. I started following the tradable markets when I was 12 (a $300 investment in SGI: Silcon Graphics), and never looked back. I earned a BS in Psychology from Union College in 1998 and then began trading NASDAQ equities with Tradescape right after. The Asian Financial crisis was a great market to learn all the fundamentals of disciplined trading in order to take advantage of the good times to come, but NOT enough to think ahead and envision the severity of the downfall that eventually followed. That learning experience was priceless.
I started The HotSpot Haven back in 2002 in the hopes of bringing a fast and informative directory for finding free and pay wifi hotspots across the globe. Another great learning experience that was profitable but never took off. Demand for wifi content slowed teaching me that content is king on the net and that my next venture online would have to be educational, sticky, real time, interesting, and worthwhile.
I became a licensed real estate agent with Citi-habitats back in AUG 2004. I have been following NYC real estate pretty closely since 1999, when I first looked to buy in. I didn't buy until NOV 2001. I started UrbanDigs.com in AUG 2005 after a long 17-month or so brainstorming session of what the site would be about. I actually registered urbandigs.com domain name back in JUNE 2004, 2 months before I became an agent. However, I didnt do anything with it until about a year and a half later. That time was worth the wait and this site is the end result. If I suceed in doing what I would like to do for this site, you will have a great resource for your buy/sell investments in Manhattan. Its a 5-yr plan that I'm almost halfway through.
CHRISTINE TOES (toes) - Christine is my colleague at Citi-Habitats. She has an amazing work ethic, is a very eager, fast and efficient learner, is an aggressive investor, and is a GREAT real estate agent to work with. She has a strong motivation to see as many products as possible, especially new developments, and to keep that knowledge and use it in her buy and sell side strategy for her clients.
Christine will report alot on new developments she visits as well as her personal experiences in the field. She is currently writing on the next investment she will make after making a great profit off a starter studio she bought and sold recently.
JEFF BERNSTEIN (jeff) - Jeff works as a partner of Guild Partners, a residential investment and development company. Jeff went to Union College as well and reached out to meet me. We finally met about 3 months ago and our conversations were incredibly interesting. I knew he would bring a great angle to this site from an inside perspective of a developer. He agreed.
Jeff will write on specific macro economic events that might cause major effects down the road as well as articles on new developments and up-n-coming neighborhoods. He will write from the perspective of his day to day experiences bringing to you an entirely different angle on Manhattan real estate investments. He will also write about topics that are forward thinking and may not necessarily be in the mass media of todays financial news, but could be in the near future.
Please understand who is writing the post and that there are three contributors to this site's content, all of which have a different angle. I hope this clears some things up for anyone who thought I put a bid in for that Bed-stuy townhouse! I didn't, that was Christine!
Time-Off - I, urbandigs, am taking a few days off with the family and dogs. Not sure if Jeff or Christine will be posting while Im away and I probably will only report on some macro economic conditions if anything until I get back. Postings will be light until Thursday.
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Comments (2)
I've definitely been guilty of being confused on who writes the article and was going to suggest in addition to the name below the post that maybe you should consider a picture of the writer. Just a small thumbnail.
If most people are like me I read your posts during work and usually I don't even bother to glance at the small print because I generally assumed you were the writer.
Posted by Matt | July 16, 2007 1:59 PM
Enjoy the time off. You deserve it.
Posted by Chris Lengquist | July 16, 2007 3:47 PM